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No Aid Finalised Officially For Kerala Flood Relief: UAE Officials

No specific amount for financial aid to flood-ravaged Kerala has been finalised officially by the United Arab Emirates and there was no announcement on donation to the state, officials in UAE Embassy said in New Delhi, amid a row over the Centre deciding not to accept any foreign donations for flood relief.

UAE ambassador Ahmed Albannam, without mentioning financial aid, said his government only set up a national emergency committee to provide relief assistance to people affected by flash floods in Kerala. "The UAE has not officially announced any financial aid for Kerala flood relief. We have not conveyed anything to India on any assistance," said a senior official in the UAE embassy in New Delhi.

The Supreme Court today ordered that the water level at the Mullaperiyar dam be maintained at 139 feet till Aug. 31 keeping in mind the grave devastation that has taken place due to the unprecedented floods in Kerala. A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud considered the Centre's submission that the sub-committee of the Mullaperiyar dam had met on Aug. 23 and directed the Tamil Nadu government to ensure that the water level is maintained at 139 feet, which is two feet below the permissible limit fixed by the apex court.

(Source: PTI)

August 24, 7:38 AM

Centre Will Provide More Aid: KJ Alphons To BloombergQuint

Union Minister of State for Tourism KJ Alphons said that the Centre is ready to provide more funds to the state. The centre has already allotted Rs 760 crore for immediate rescue and relief activities, stressing that it will provide more funds after assessing the total damage, KJ Alphons told BloombergQuint.

Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac criticized the Narendra Modi-led central government for refusing to accept aid from foreign countries. In a series of tweets, Isaac said that the centre should consider compensating the state for refusing aid offered by United Arab Emirates.

National Disaster Management Plan Chapter 9 on international cooperation accepts that in time severe calamity voluntary aid given by a foreign gov can be accepted. Still if Union Gov chooses to adopt a negative stance towards offer made byUAE gov they should compensate Kerala

We asked Union Gov for financial support of â¹2200 Cr ; they grant us a precious â¹600 Cr . We make no request to any foreign gov but UAE gov voluntarily offer â¹700cr. No, says Union gov , it is below our dignity to accept foreign aid. This is a dog in the manger policy.

The UAE had offered $100 million (around Rs 700 crore) as financial assistance for flood relief operation in Kerala while the government of Maldives had decided to donate $50,000 (Rs 35 lakh) for flood-affected people in Kerala, news agency PTI had reported on Wednesday.

Flight Operations From Cochin To Resume On Aug. 29

Flight operations from the flood-hit international airport in Cochin, which was rendered non functional for over a week, will resume from Aug. 29 instead of Aug. 26 as announced earlier. The decision to extend the date was taken at a meeting at Cochin International Airport Limited, where most stakeholders, including airlines and ground handling agencies, expressed concern over mobilising manpower by that date, a CIAL spokesperson said.